George Hardy (born October 16, 1954) is an American dentist and actor who played the leading role in the

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

film ''

Troll 2 ''Troll 2'' is a 1990 horror film directed by Claudio Fragasso (under the pseudonym Drake Floyd) and starring Michael Stephenson, George Hardy, Connie McFarland, and Jason Wright. Although produced under the title ''Goblins'', the American ...

'' (1990), which is regarded as one of the worst films ever made. In 2021 he was in the horror movie ''CYST''.

Career

Hardy studied at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

during the 1970s. At that time he was interested in theater. He took acting classes, but gave up the idea of becoming an actor because he feared that it wouldn't be a practical career. Hardy eventually became a dentist. He was practicing in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

when he auditioned for ''Troll 2'' at the urging of some of his patients. He ended up winning the role of Michael Waits, head of the family that falls victim to the titular villains. After the film's dismal reception following a

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

release, he returned to practicing dentistry full-time and did not pursue acting any further. Word of mouth slowly spread about ''Troll 2'' regarding how laughably poor it was, allowing a loyal fanbase to develop. This reached a head with the

Upright Citizens Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, Ri ...

's 2006 "''Troll 2'' Experience" screening, where Hardy was thrust back into the limelight as a guest of honor (along with several other cast members). He and fellow co-star Michael Stephenson collaborated shortly thereafter on the behind-the-scenes documentary ''

Best Worst Movie ''Best Worst Movie'' is a 2009 American documentary film about the making of the infamous 1990 horror film ''Troll 2'' and its subsequent resurgence as a cult film. Directed by Michael Stephenson, the child star of ''Troll 2'', the film was dis ...

'' (2009). This film has gone on to receive widespread critical and audience acclaim and was the centerpiece of an international tour that both Hardy and Stephenson engaged in between 2009 and 2010. Following the success of ''Best Worst Movie'', Hardy revived his acting career and has been involved in numerous projects. These include Eric Hordes' yet-to-be-released film ''Goblin 2'', in which he reprises his ''Troll 2'' role of Michael Waits. Hardy had his first leading role since ''Troll 2'' when he played Sgt. Travis Delmore in ''Texas Cotton'' (2018), which he also executive-produced.

Personal life

He currently resides in his hometown of

Alexander City, Alabama Alexander City, known to locals as "Alex City", is the largest city in Tallapoosa County, Alabama, United States, with a population of 14,843 as of the 2020 census. It has been the largest community in Tallapoosa County since 1910. It is know ...

, where he has maintained a dental practice since 1991.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, George 1954 births Living people American dentists American male film actors Auburn University alumni Male actors from Alabama Male actors from Salt Lake City People from Alexander City, Alabama University of Alabama alumni